Upon the petition of the tutor as provided in Article 4321 or 4341, the court may order the immediate sale of perishable property and growing crops either at public auction or private sale, without appraisal, and without advertisement, or with such advertisement as the court may direct.
Art. 4303.Perishable Property; Crops
Book VII. Special Proceedings · Title VI. Tutorship · Chapter 9. Alienation of Minor's Property · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 4303 lets a court order the immediate sale of a minor's perishable property or growing crops at public auction or private sale, skipping appraisal and advertisement or limiting them, when the ordinary public- or private-sale procedure would be too slow to preserve the property's value.
Full Text of Art. 4303
Plain-English Summary
Some property loses value the longer a sale takes. Perishable goods spoil, and a growing crop has a narrow harvest window before it drops in worth or fails outright. The formal procedures in Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 9 -- petition, published notice, a set minimum price -- protect the minor by slowing the process down and inviting scrutiny, but that same deliberateness can destroy the value of property that will not wait.
Article 4303 resolves the tension. On the tutor's petition, brought under either the public-sale procedure in Article 4321 or the private-sale procedure in Article 4341, the court can order an immediate sale of perishable property or growing crops. The court can dispense with appraisal entirely, skip advertisement altogether, or allow whatever reduced advertisement it thinks appropriate under the circumstances, rather than requiring the full publication Article 4322 would otherwise demand.
The tutor still has to petition the court and obtain an order; Article 4303 relaxes the formalities of the sale itself, not the requirement of court authorization. What changes is the pace and paperwork, not the underlying principle that a sale affecting the minor's property needs judicial sign-off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can perishable property belonging to a minor be sold quickly in Louisiana?
Yes. Article 4303 lets the court order an immediate sale of perishable property or growing crops, without the appraisal and advertisement that a standard sale would otherwise require.
Does selling perishable property still require a court order?
Yes. The tutor still has to petition the court under Article 4321 or 4341, and the court still authorizes the sale; Article 4303 only relaxes the formalities once that authorization is sought.
Why does Louisiana treat crops and perishable goods differently from other property?
Because delay destroys their value. The publication and minimum-price safeguards that protect a minor in an ordinary sale can cost more than they save when the property will spoil or the harvest window will close before a formal sale can happen.
Can a court still require some advertisement of a perishable-property sale?
Yes. Article 4303 allows the court to dispense with advertisement entirely or to direct whatever reduced advertisement it considers appropriate, rather than mandating one fixed approach.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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